Seventy years and still going strong

Monday

Sep 19, 2005 at 9:05 AMSep 19, 2005 at 9:06 AM

By Natalie FlemingTimes Staff Writer

It was the year Elvis was born. Franklin D. Roosevelt started the second phase of the New Deal, ushering in Social Security. Persia became Iran. Detroit won the World Series and Monopoly was introduced by Parker Brothers.

It was 1935 and the beginning of Jarrells family reunions.

The reunion, a traditional meeting of family and friends with dinner on the grounds, was the brainchild of an entire generation of Jarrells family members, beginning with Arthur Jarrells, his wife, siblings and some in-laws.

"It has always been a tradition for the Jarrells family," recalls my grandmother, Norma Heath, granddaughter of Arthur Jarrells and his wife, Bunea. "We would all get together, bring dinner and spend the day together catching up on old times."

And by "all," she means everyone.

Most of the crowd was made up by Arthur and Bunea's 11 children: Elbert and Armor Jarrells, Herman and Eunice Jarrells, Bernice and Floyd Bobbitt, Myrtie and Clyde Lancaster, Travis and Margie Jarrells, Dewey and Lola Jarrells, Henry and Mary Jarrells, Howard and Tea Jarrells, Grady and Blance Jarrells, Willie and Jim Pearson and Gertrude and Charlie Lankford. But the slack was made up by sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, kin and no kin.

Everyone, it seems, came out of the woodwork during early Jarrells family reunions.

"Back when it first started, there was nothing else to do," my grandma said. "All the neighbors who lived close came. If you had a reunion, everyone would want to come."

The first reunions were at various homes of Arthur and Bunea's in-laws and children, including Willie and Jim Pearson and Gertrude and Charlie Lankford, who lived in Hokes Bluff. A time or two the reunion was at the home of Herman and Eunice Jarrells in Ball Play.

As the reunion began in 1935, the country was in the middle of what would be known as the Great Depression, a massive global economic recession that began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. The lack of money and rationing of certain dry goods and supplies did not deter the family from coming together each August.

"Most of us were country people, so we raised what we ate," my grandmother remembered. "We fished or had our meat at home, so food wasn't a problem."

However, it was hard to obtain coffee, flour, sugar and some other staple goods because of the government-issued ration stamps needed to buy the products.

Lack of running water and electricity in those early years also was not a problem. Because no one had ever had it before, it wasn't apparent anything was missing.

"We didn't have electricity, but we had an ice man that ran, so we would buy a 50-pound chunk and use it to keep the food cool if needed," she recalled. "We drew water out of the well in a bucket."

The war also took some Jarrells relatives overseas to fight for freedom in Europe and the Pacific. Those old enough to fight did, but luckily all returned safely. Despite the battle against the Germans and Japanese, the Jarrells family continued the reunions in the safety of quiet country homes, away from the bustling industry of the bigger cities and the war-torn battlefields far, far away.

The 1950s brought other changes to the Jarrells family. The family's patriarch, Arthur Roscoe Jarrells, died of complications from a stroke in 1950. His wife, Bunea Ethel Harcrow Jarrells, died three years later of bone cancer on Christmas Day.

The story of their personal losses of the early 1950s didn't dim the desire to continue what had, by now, become a family tradition.

The responsibility of planning and executing the Jarrells family reunion then fell to the next generation, Arthur and Bunea's 11 children, including my great-grandfather, Herman Jarrells. Most of the responsibility fell to the Jarrells daughters, Bernice, Myrtie, Willie and Gertrude, as well as the daughters-in-law, Armor, Eunice, Margie, Lola, Mary, Tea and Blanche.

Their tenacity and strong will to continue what had become an annual event for more than 20 years kept the reunion going, even as families continued to grow and move away to cities and states such as Texas, Detroit, Ohio, the Carolinas and Atlanta.

By now, my great-grandparents, Herman and Eunice (Butler) Jarrells, had eight children of their own. And their children were having babies of their own as well.

The younger children were entertained by outdoor games, while the adults busied themselves with gossip and chatter. But all soon were quieted by the massive spread of main dishes, sides and desserts that filled seemingly mile-long tables.

Some Jarrells women, and even some of the men, have become famous for dishes they shared through the years. Myrtie Jarrells Lancaster, who died a few years ago, was famous for her coconut cake. Jean Jarrells Weaver, daughter of Henry and Mary Jarrells, could bake a scrumptious strawberry cake. Gertrude Jarrells Lankford made fabulous chocolate pies. Even my great-grandfather, Herman Jarrells, got in on the act, creating that yummy summer dessert staple, banana pudding.

After the food, it was always time for adults to sit around and catch up on friends and family, discuss what news had made its way to the country back roads and enjoy what was left of reunion day.

The Jarrells family knew how to eat, how to fellowship and how to get together and just be family. After so many decades, it had become second nature.

By the 1980s, the Jarrells family had been getting together for more than 45 years. It was a time when America was enthralled by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album, the prime-time soap opera "Dallas" was on almost every television in the country on Friday nights, desperate mothers fought over Cabbage Patch Kids for their even more desperate daughters and we all learned a little about "Reaganomics."

Despite the massive changes that had occurred in the world, country, state and even in the small corners of Etowah County, the Jarrells family found solace in coming together the third Sunday in August for the annual Jarrells reunion. By this time, the reunion had moved to the air conditioned comforts of the Hokes Bluff Community Center. Gone were the days of gathering at old homesteads in the rolling pastures and farms of the countryside.

Even with a change of venue, the reunions continued to be as popular as ever. Crowds of relatives would meet in the large brick building on Sunday afternoon, just as their "founders of the family" had done so many decades ago. It wouldn't matter if you hadn't seen each other for weeks, months, years or even just since the last reunion, the Jarrells family would come together as though only a few hours had passed since they were last reunited and would slip into old habits and familiar conversation.

"We've always been glad to meet up and see each other," my grandmother recollects.

Continuing a long-time tradition

Arthur and Bunea have been gone for more than half a century. All of their children have died. There are no more sly smiles from my own Papa Jarrells, no more warm hugs from Aunt Myrtie. Even some of Arthur and Bunea's grandchildren and great-grandchildren have gone on to that great reunion in the sky.

The only remaining member of that generation is my great-grandmother, Eunice.

Though the reunion still is somewhat crowded, and the food is always plentiful, it seems as though the meeting of the Jarrells family has lost some attendance through the years. Even with the encouragement of my grandmother and her first cousins, it is sometimes hard to get the later generations, especially mine, to attend. Sadly, family reunions don't have the same meaning to most twenty-somethings as they do to our grandparents.

Despite less attendance than was enjoyed in the 1930s and the following decades, the Jarrells family has held steady for 70 years.

The location has been the same for so long. And the third Sunday in August date has always remained the same. And if you're a Jarrells, you know what it means - time to meet up, eat a really good meal and find something, or someone, to talk about.

Seventy years after the first gathering, the 70th consecutive installment of the Jarrells family reunion was Aug. 21 at the Hokes Bluff Community Center.

Primarily organized by Donald and Janice Jarrells, son and daughter-in-law of Henry and Mary Jarrells, the event drew a large crowd ranging from great-grandmothers to twenty-somethings to tiny babies resting obliviously in pumpkin seats. Some came from other states. Others were just "friends of the family" who came, well, because they always have.

"Some of us don't get to see each other during the year, so it's always a happy time when we meet up at the reunion," my grandmother said. "We're always so glad to see each other."

Around mid-afternoon, the dishes were gathered up, trash collected and discarded and chairs and tables put away. Hugs were given, e-mail address and phone numbers exchanged.

Yet another reunion had come and gone.

Will there be 70 more Jarrells family reunions?

Quite possibly.

When you've been doing something for so long, it kind of becomes a habit.

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